Fracking campaign under way in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, April 17 (UPI) -- Three wells in Argentina were subjected to a hydraulic fracturing campaign to coax additional natural resources from the ground, President Energy announced.

President, which has headquarters in London, said fracking operations are under way at the Puesto Guardian concession in Argentina. Two wells -- PE7 and PE8 -- have been idled for more than 20 years but showed signs of unrecovered oil. Well DP1001 was described as "relatively new" and produced small amounts of oil.

Seismic surveys in the region show there may be more oil accessible. President said first results from the wells are expected by June.

Canadian energy company Americas Petrogas said last week it produced as much as 3.2 million cubic feet of natural gas during initial production tests from a fracking campaign in the Vaca Muerta shale formation in Argentina.

The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration estimates that Argentina has 774 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas resources, the third most in the world. Oil reserves are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels.

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